Dinesh D'Souza
|
|
Dsouza.jpg
Dinesh D'Souza (born April 25, 1961 in Bombay, India) is an American conservative author.
D'Souza is the author of numerous New York Times bestseller list books, including:
- Illiberal Education (1991).
- The End of Racism (1995).
- Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader (1997).
- The Virtue of Prosperity: Finding Values in an Age of Techno-Affluence (2000).
- Letters to a Young Conservative (2002).
- What's So Great about America (2002).
On October 15, 1990, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.
| Contents |
Career
D'Souza is the Robert and Karen Rishwain Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He served previously as senior domestic policy analyst in the White House from 1987 to 1988 and, previously, as a member of the editorial staff of Policy Review magazine.
Conservatism
D'Souza is a noted conservative, and defines conservatism in the American sense as "conserving the principles of the American Revolution". He argues that it is a blend of classical liberalism and ancient virtue, in particular, "the belief that there are moral standards in the universe and that living up to them is the best way to have a full and happy life." He also argues against what he calls the modern liberal belief that "human nature is intrinsically good," and thus that "the great conflicts in the world…arise out of terrible misunderstandings that can be corrected through ongoing conversation and through the mediation of the United Nations." (Letters to a Young Conservative)
Liberal intolerance and racial preferences
D'Souza challenges liberal (left-wing) beliefs and projects such as affirmative action, and social welfare programs. His first and second books, Illiberal Education and The End of Racism, came under critical attack from many liberals but were widely supported by conservatives. In the first, he argued that the ostensible tolerance practised by many universities was actually an intolerance of any conservative view, and this theme has been continued by university professors such as Mike Adams in Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel: Confessions of a Conservative College Professor. D'Souza's denial of the existence of institutionalized racism in modern American society (especially since he is an immigrant and member of a minority race himself) has made him an enemy of many civil rights groups and leaders, including Jesse Jackson.
D'Souza has often stated that he believes idealizing the rebellion against slavery is a source of disability among African Americans wanting to reintegrate into the new "non-racist" society. He believes that slaves, to preserve a sense of dignity, in the circumstances of cruel slavery, would by nature tend to be defiant. This defiance, exemplified in the archetype of the "bad nigger", would become the central hero for African slaves, restoring a degree of pride and dignity to all. But, he continues, the price of this would be the habitually engrained attitude of defiance, that was ultimately self-destructive. These self-destructive habits still have a legacy today, D'Souza contends, and serve to explain, in a large part, the degree to which slave descendants suffer from social and self-esteem issues, inheritors of an ideal that heralded a bad attitude.
As an Indian immigrant (with Portuguese blood), D'Souza has admitted that he believes his race has worked to his political advantage. As a critic of the role of racism in American society, he frequently denounces the actions of his fellow minorities, often with frank language that many believe would be perceived as racist if it were spoken by a white. For example, he argues that racial preferences "devalue black achievements, and they intensify doubts about black capacity."
Virtues of America
The theme of D'Souza's book What's So Great About America is that the freedoms of America offer much to immigrants, which is why there have been so many. He argues that the success of immigrants historically is due to their assimilation of American values while keeping their heritage, i.e. the "melting pot", E pluribus unum. Conversely, he is critical of the twin extremes of cultural ghettos, in particular due to multiculturalism, and Theodore Roosevelt's denuciation of hyphenated Americans. D'Souza also argues against what he perceives as a blame-America-first attitude of many American liberals, who underestimate the great benefits he says America offers compared to other countries. One of his anecdotes was a fellow Indian who was very eager to come to America so he could see poor people who are fat.
Feminism
D'Souza also denounces feminism in Letters to a Young Conservative:
"The feminist error was to embrace the value of the workplace as greater than the value of the home. Feminism has endorsed the public sphere as inherently more constitutive of women’s worth than the private sphere. Feminists have established as their criterion of success and self-worth an equal representation with men at the top of the career ladder. The consequence of this feminist scale of values is a terrible and unjust devaluation of women who work at home." (pp. 105–106).
Social issues
D'Souza also is a commentator on various social issues, and often denounces the notions that imperialism and laissez-faire-conservative ideologies have been complicit in creating many of the world's problems.
A millionaire
One of the country's most successful conservative speakers, D'Souza routinely is paid $10,000 or more for his lectures and has made millions from his books and conservative commentary. The San Diego Reader reported in April, 2005:
"Since Dartmouth, the conservative fray has been quite remunerative for D'Souza. Six years ago, he and his wife bought their home in Fairbanks Ranch. The nearly 8000-square-foot house has six bedrooms, seven and a half baths, and a four-car garage, where they keep their maroon 1992 Jaguar XJS. A circular drive fronts the French country stone house. The cathedral-like front room, with its full-length mirrors and tapestries, has an 18th-century French decor of (veneered) golden maple burl furniture. The slick floors echo like a museum as one walks through. In his office, there's wall-to-wall leopard-print carpet; floor-to-ceiling bookcases are stocked with titles in history, politics, and philosophy. The view out back features a bright blue pool and the arboretum-like landscape."[1] (http://www.sdreader.com/php/cover.php?mode=article&showpg=1&id=20050414).
Personal
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College, D'Souza was the founder of the Dartmouth Review.
D'Souza is married to Dixie D'Souza, with whom he has a daughter. They reside in Fairbanks Ranch, California.
Prior to his marriage, he reportedly dated conservative author Ann Coulter and conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, to whom he was engaged but never married[2] (http://www.nndb.com/people/810/000049663/).
Writings
Books
Books authored by Dinesh D’Souza include:
- 1986: The Catholic Classics
- 1991: Illiberal Education
- 1995: The End of Racism
- 1997: Ronald Reagan: How An Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader
- 2000: The Virtue of Prosperity
- 2002: What's So Great About America
- 2002: Letters to a Young Conservative
Articles
Articles written by Dinesh D’Souza include:
- Ten Great Thing About America
- How Ronald Reagan Won The Cold War
- Technology And Moral Progress
- The Self Esteem Hoax
- Two Cheers For Colonialism
- Reagan Versus The Intellectuals
External links
- Official D'Souza web site (http://www.dineshdsouza.com/).
- Dinesh D'Souza profile, NNDB (http://www.nndb.com/people/810/000049663/).
- "The Controversialist" (http://www.sdreader.com/php/cover.php?mode=article&showpg=1&id=20050414), April 14, 2005.